Ford Unimpressed With His Own Tigers

September 13, 1989|By DAVE JOHNSON Staff Writer

Clemson Coach Danny Ford's message to his team was clear Tuesday at his weekly press conference - don't get complacent.

"We had so many missed assignments, we must have set a dang world record for missed assignments," Ford said of the Tigers' most recent game. "Maybe that's not good coaching or something. Our kicking game was pathetic ... We have a lot of corrections to make.

"If we don't have the right attitude this week, we'll have a hard time and we'll get embarrassed. That's not hogwash, that's no bull. That's the way I feel ... I'm not impressed with the football team yet. That doesn't matter. They're probably not impressed with me yet, either."

Never mind the fact that Clemson is ranked seventh in the nation and coming off a 34-23 victory over No. 16 Florida State. Ford was cautious in publicly praising his team, which will visit Virginia Tech Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

"You have to make them mad, treat them ugly, not let them think they're good," said Ford, the nation's fourth winningest active coach. "You don't want to hurt their confidence, though. But you don't want to let them get to high on themselves.

"We had one good night, and I thank them for that. A great football team is not inconsistent. Virginia Tech is a tough place to play. We'll see how we respond to a little positive feedback from the public. I hope they handle it well."

Ford's words, apparently, have been received.

"We've got to put Florida State to rest and not think about it anymore," linebacker Doug Brewster said. "We've looked at the tapes and everybody knows the mistakes they made. It was a good victory and I enjoyed it, but we can't misjudge Virginia Tech."

Clemson (2-0) unexpectedly dominated Florida State at Tallahassee, cruising to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. But Ford is concerned about the Seminoles' second-half rally. FSU cut the Tigers' lead to 28-16 and was driving when it fumbled. Clemson added two field goals to secure the victory.

Junior tailback Terry Allen, who was suspended for the Tigers' opener against Furman after being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Chris Morocco completed 8-of-9 passes for 134 yards.

"Chris will start if he plays good today in practice," Ford said. "I wanted to play both against Florida State, but I didn't. I felt bad for (reserve) DeChane Cameron. I planned to use both, but Chris started and had the hot hand, so I stayed with him. That doesn't make my word good with DeChane.

"My plans are to play both right now, and I'm not going to talk anymore about that. We don't have a starting quarterback like we don't have a starting guard. Everybody can be beaten out. I'd like to play both against Virginia Tech."

The Hokies (1-0-1) are coming off an impressive, yet frustrating, 17-17 tie with the University of South Carolina. Tech was completely manhandled by the Tigers last year in Death Valley 40-7 in freshman quarterback Will Furrer's college football baptism.

Furrer completed 17-of-36 for 116 yards and was sacked six times. But Ford expects a different quarterback at Lane Stadium.

"He was in front of 78,000 fans which he had never seen before," Ford said. "He played well under the conditions, but I watched the South Carolina-Virginia Tech game films and I could tell he's improved a lot. It's not that he wasn't already good, but he's improved so much in one year.

"They have more formations this year and they let him pass more. He reminds me of a guy who was at Maryland, another big, blond quarterback (the Cincinnati Bengals' Boomer Esiason)."

Clemson is an early 11 1/2-point favorite.

TIGER NOTES: In last week's Sports Illustrated, Paul Zimmerman picked 23 players he believes will dominate the NFL throughout the 1990s. Clemson sophomore Chris Gardocki was selected as the punter/kicker. Gardocki averaged 42.5 yards a punt and made two field goals in Clemson's victory over Florida State ... The Tigers don't throw much, but have been extremely effective on the rare occasions they do. Clemson has completed 22-of-30 passes for 73.3 percent.